Boyzone Bring Stephen Gately Home

The remaining members of Boyzone as they flew to Majorca to escort home the body of Stephen Gately.

Ronan Keating said: “Last Saturday, our world changed forever when we lost our friend and brother.” In a trembling voice, he said Gately would be given “an unforgettable send off” in Dublin on Saturday. Gately was found dead at his holiday home in Spain last week, a post-mortem exam found he died from natural causes.

Keating looks as though he has a new tattoo on his arm with the dates 76-09 as a tribute to Gately (see below). He said the band and the Gately family had been “truly overwhelmed” by the “countless messages of love and support” they had received.

“We thank you from the bottom of our heart for each and everyone of them.” With Mikey Graham, Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch by his side Keating paid tribute to his former bandmate. He said: “Stephen lived to perform and truly loved being centre stage. You can be sure he’s looking down now wishing we’d move over so he could flash a smile for the cameras one more time.”

CLICK HERE to watch Ronan’s speech earlier today. It must be such a difficult time for the boys, we can hardly imagine what they are going through – it’s a truly terrible loss.